Dear Evan Hansen - Ben Platt Attendance- Page 16

[Mirpandas]

Posted: 9/13/17 at 5:37pm

Isn't it weird that Colton is playing Connor?

I thought he was, initially, the main understudy for Evan and Michael Lee Brown was primarily cast to be Connor's.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 9/13/17 at 5:44pm

^yeah. Things change

[haterobics]

Posted: 9/13/17 at 5:52pm

 

[annang]

Posted: 9/13/17 at 5:54pm

Is Ben on or off for the matinee on 11/11? Media reports say Michael Lee Brown is on for matinees "through" 11/11, but on Telecharge, there are seats available that day, and no note saying Ben is out. Does anyone know? 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 9/13/17 at 5:55pm

annang said: "Is Ben on or off for the matinee on 11/11? Media reports say Michael Lee Brown is on for matinees "through" 11/11, but on Telecharge, there are seats available that day, and no note saying Ben is out. Does anyone know?"

"Through 11/1" = including 11/1.

[ijest22]

Posted: 9/13/17 at 5:58pm

annang said: "Is Ben on or off for the matinee on 11/11? Media reports say Michael Lee Brown is on for matinees "through" 11/11, but on Telecharge, there are seats available that day, and no note saying Ben is out. Does anyone know?"

is Ben skipping Sunday matinees now, as well?

 

[annang]

Posted: 9/13/17 at 6:01pm

11/11 is a Saturday. And the reason I asked is because "through" normally means "including," but Telecharge has marked every other Wednesday and Saturday matinee to note that Ben is out, except that one, which has no note on it.

[LesWickedly]

Posted: 9/13/17 at 6:01pm

Ben does do Sunday matinees. No, he won't be at the November 11th performance. He'll perform the matinees in his final week, so November 15th and 18th. 

Ann, Telecharge glitchs all the time. The current glitch is that it'll say Michael is performing and then disappear. I checked multiple dates, including Nov. 11th and it happened.

Updated On: 9/13/17 at 06:01 PM

[herewegoabc]

Posted: 9/13/17 at 6:07pm

I just bought tickets for 11/11 matinee last night and the bold red PLEASE BE ADVISED MICHAEL LEE BROWN WILL PLAY THE ROLE OF EVAN HANSEN AT THIS PERFORMANCE was on every page of my purchase. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 9/13/17 at 6:54pm

ijest22 said: "is Ben skipping Sunday matinees now, as well?"

He performs on Sundays. But he isn't skipping any matinees, they just changed his schedule. Similarly, you aren't skipping school if you don't have a class scheduled at that time. 

[ijest22]

Posted: 9/13/17 at 7:03pm

haterobics said: "ijest22 said: "is Ben skipping Sunday matinees now, as well?"

He performs on Sundays. But he isn't skipping any matinees, they just changed his schedule. Similarly, you aren'tskipping school if you don't have a class scheduled at that time."

But he did originally have performances scheduled for those matinees, and has chosen to not perform, so he is skipping those matinees. No reason to read anything derogatory into it.

[LesWickedly]

Posted: 9/13/17 at 7:12pm

Doesn't really matter, but since you're fighting it, I will fight as well. If a show changed their schedule and did Thursday matinees instead of Wednesday matinees, they're not "skipping" those Wednesday matinees. Skipping implies that he is just casually not doing those shows. He's not scheduled to perform at those shows. Why did I put so much effort into this? I don't know, either.

[greenifyme2]

Posted: 9/14/17 at 12:19am

Love Ben but bought myself a ticket over 6 months ago before the crazy price hike for my birthday next week that happened to be a Wednesday matinee he is no longer performing in... so yeah, it does feel a bit like he's 'skipping it.' 

Even if the reasons are good and the understudy is good, it's disappointing. And I've seen him already. Sucks for people that have only one shot and bought them so far in advance.

[jewel2515]

Posted: 9/15/17 at 9:25am

Anyone have new on November 12th? Sunday matinee?

[emmdub]

Posted: 9/15/17 at 11:07am

Has anyone heard for sure either way whether Ben is performing on Sept. 20 at 8? Telecharge says he's scheduled to perform, but that's Rosh Hashanah so it seems kind of unlikely...

[saxpower]

Posted: 9/15/17 at 1:05pm

A little late to the discussion of MLB playing the matinees, but wanted to put my two cents in.   Hopefully, I won't get flamed too badly.

 

I have a ticket for the 10/4 performance.  I paid for premium seating with the specific intention of seeing Ben before he leaves.  (The extra cost also meant I could not find someone to come with me [I'm coming from about 2 hours away]). 

Let me say I completely understand that Ben's voice is his livelihood, and he needs to make sure it is not damaged.   He has most of the songs, and while some disagree, from what I hear its a demanding role of the type where alternates are used (Christine in Phantom, Eva Peron in Evita).  Its also probably better that he have set days where he will and won't be there rather than missing random shows, as this allows people to plan.

My problem with the situation is twofold.  First, the need for an alternate should have been realized early on, and used from the beginning, so ticket buyers could plan.  The other issue is not really restricted to DEH.  As I said, I'm coming from out of town- just a day trip, admittedly.  I would guess that Wed. and Sat. matinees are the only practical times for many other out-of-towners to see the show (yes, I know there are Sunday Matinees, but church, family events, etc might make this a difficult day for people).  Local travel/bus companies offer day trips to NYC with a ticket to see a show- these are generally Wed. or Sat matinees.   Choosing BOTH of these matinee performances to use an alternate simply makes it impossible for some people to  see the regular performer.  Plenty of shows do this, and it bugs me...why not split (as some shows do) the two show days so the regular performer  and alternate  each do one matinee and one evening?   Gives the matinee crowd more of an opportunity to see the regular performer.

       Let me be clear, this is NOT hate on MLB.  All reports is he is wonderful.  It just kinda stinks to pay the extra for a premium ticket yet still not have the opportunity to see Ben.  

     I thought about getting a refund, but decided against it- have been looking forward to it for too long.  Plus, while I'm "a few" years older than the main audience, the story, and what I can determine of Evan's character from the OBC resonates greatly with me.  I'm sure I will enjoy the show and MLB's performance. 

 

     One question- does the Playbill still list him as an understudy or as an alternate? The website has him as an understudy. You'd think the theater would rather it list him as Evan for Wed. and Sat. matinees than having ushers have to put the little slips in every time. (And are there equity rules about this?)

   

 

[CarmenA3]

Posted: 9/15/17 at 1:12pm

saxpower said: "A little late to the discussion of MLB playing the matinees, but wanted to put my two cents in. Hopefully, I won't get flamed too badly.

I have a ticket for the 10/4 performance. I paid for premium seating with the specific intention of seeing Ben before he leaves. (The extra cost also meant I could not find someone to come with me [I'm coming from about 2 hours away]).
 

Saxpower: I too went with intentions to see Ben, but MLB was on (this was early in that week in Aug that Ben was out).  We did not know until we looked at our Playbills.  I was really bummed for the first few minutes, then I was impressed with MLB and almost forgot about Ben.

You'll enjoy MLB's performance - Words Fail - wow!

[hmprice930]

Posted: 9/15/17 at 2:39pm

emmdub said: "Has anyone heard for sure either way whether Ben is performing on Sept. 20 at 8? Telecharge says he's scheduled to perform, but that's Rosh Hashanah so it seems kind of unlikely..."

I just stopped by the box office to pick up my tickets for Sept. 20th's evening performance, and the employee working at the window said he's scheduled to be on that night. Hope that helps! 

[Margo319]

Posted: 9/15/17 at 3:45pm

People come in, generally, from out of town on weekends in NYC to see Broadway shows.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday shows are what they come in for, most of the time.  Im sorry you cannot see Ben, but if you can pick night shows next time, you have a much better chance of seeing the main person for that role.

[michaelje7]

Posted: 9/17/17 at 4:36pm

I saw the show at a matinee yesterday without Ben Platt, and while the show and MLB were truly wonderful, I couldn't stop thinking that I'm missing Ben (likely would have gotten refund had I known it was an option). I'm now looking at a very expensive resale ticket to try to get back before Ben leaves. That being said, I'd like to try to avoid missing Ben again. Any thoughts to the safest time (most likely for him to be there) to go to see him? I was looking at the Friday night or Saturday matinee during his final weekend...do you think this would be a good time to go? Or should I try to find a night earlier in October or November? Thanks!

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 9/17/17 at 4:40pm

michaelje7 said: "I saw the show at a matinee yesterday without Ben Platt, and while the show and MLB were truly wonderful, I couldn't stop thinking that I'm missing Ben (likely would have gotten refund had I known it was an option). I'm now looking at a very expensive resale ticket to try to get back before Ben leaves. That being said, I'd like to try to avoid missing Ben again. Any thoughts to the safest time (most likely for him to be there) to go to see him? I was looking at the Friday night or Saturday matinee during his final weekend...do you think this would be a good time to go? Or should I try to find a night earlier in October or November? Thanks!"

I'd say evenings of his last week are our best bet. 

[emmdub]

Posted: 9/17/17 at 6:18pm

hmprice930@, thank you! That comforts me greatly! Here's hoping for both of us that it turns out to be true :)

[Mediamaven2]

Posted: 9/17/17 at 8:21pm

dalton said: "I saw DEH on Wednesday evening,August 30, and Ben was out. Usher just said he's decided to take some time off No explanation. We came all the way from Georgia just to see Ben. Rachel Ray Jones was off also."

That sucks. Of course there is no guarantee of ever seeing any billed performer in live theater, but we all know when individual actor's are celebrated for their particular performance, and one then purchases tickets, it is so disappointing when they are out. You had a double whammy. Of course everyone else is great, and the u/s might have been great, but nonetheless it is disappointing.

I find summer is always a crap shoot. People take vacations. Best bet is always to catch the must see performances before the Tonys!  But that is hard for out of towners. It can also  be hard to know, but not if you read these boards!!

 

[herewegoabc]

Posted: 9/18/17 at 5:58pm

Wrong thread... oops
 

Updated On: 9/18/17 at 05:58 PM

[Snowis1]

Posted: 9/18/17 at 6:56pm

Does anyone know the dates in October that Ben Platt will be absent from DEH as of now? Trying to plan a trip during the middle of the month.